Shawnee High School Student Wins First Place in NJ “Just Drive” PSA Contest

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Shawnee High School senior, John Oleniacz, won first prize in NJM Insurance Group’s third annual “Just Drive” PSA Video Contest. The prize includes $15,000 towards driver education and safety programs.

John submitted his PSA video for the contest in March after starting work on it in December.

His hours of hard work paid off when his video was selected for first place among 36 competing schools.

The competition was open to New Jersey high school students, and students were tasked with creating a 30 second video that addressed the dangers of distracted driving.

Winners were selected by an independent panel of judges, scored on a multi-factored scoring rubric including technical mastery, creativity, social benefit, validity of data used, and clarity.

John credited his win to the hours of hard work spent on the PSA and guidance from his advisors in the Lenape District Television program (LDTV), including Rebecca Potter, Marc Sonsini, Dana Spera, and John Donaldson.

Speaking about his win, John said, “When working on this project I wasn’t focused on grand ideas but rather the tiny details that were most important. The feedback from the advisors was critical to my success because it helped me go from 90% of where I wanted to be to 100%. I could not have done this without them.”

John will be attending the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) in the Fall of 2021.

Check out John’s wining video:

About LRHSD

The Lenape Regional High School District’s four high schools – Lenape, Shawnee, Cherokee and Seneca – as well as the Sequoia Alternative Program, educate approximately 6,850 students from eight communities in Burlington County.

The communities served include Evesham, Medford, Medford Lakes, Mount Laurel, Shamong, Southampton, Tabernacle, and Woodland.

The Lenape Regional District is among the highest-achieving districts in the state, with an average graduation rate of 97.4% and an average combined SAT score of 1139.

A leader in progressive education, the LRHSD’s mission is to develop physically and emotionally healthy students who excel in an everchanging world.